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INTRUSIVE IGNEOUS ROCKS solidify beneath the Earth's surface. Because the
magma cools over a relatively long period of time, Intrusive igneous rocks tend to
have large mineral crystals that give the rock a rough granular texture. The best
know Intrusive igneous rocks is granite which is composed of the minerals
quartz, mica and feldspar. The Earth has many exposed intrusive igneous rocks
due to erosion and tectonic uplift. There are many plutons exposed in California.
The Hawaiian Islands are entirely composed of basalt. Rhyolite, another type of
extrusive igneous rock, was extruded and ejected by Mt. St. Helen's volcano in it's
famous explosion in the 1980's. Some extrusive igneous rocks, such as obsidian and
pumice, are cooled so quickly that they have no mineral crystallization at all and are
glassy in nature.